This change is part of an overall new look for the company, transitioning from Wellspring Worldwide to Wellspring.

“The name Wellspring, as in a source of abundant knowledge, reflects the critical role that collaborative innovation plays in the economy. Vannevar Bush, former Dean of Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and head of United States Office of Scientific Research and Development during World War II, among other notable roles, established the modern innovation system, pushing forward the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Manhattan Project, and other efforts. In doing so, Bush cited that universities, and more generally fundamental research, would become “the wellsprings of knowledge and understanding,” explained Wellspring CEO Robert Lowe.

“This recognition laid the groundwork for modern R&D processes and academic-industry collaboration. The shortened domain coincides with a rebranding of our company name to Wellspring, focusing attention on our history and how we are known in our markets.”

The Chicago-based Open Innovation software company was founded in 2003 as a spin-out of Carnegie Mellon University, initially providing technology transfer software solutions to universities and hospitals. Wellspring’s Sophia software platform is now used in universities across the world, in hospitals such as University Hospitals/Case Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, and by corporations such as Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products, as well as within government departments including the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Wellspring recently closed $5 millionin capital from MK Capital, with plans to strengthen its existing products and provide new technologies in Open Innovation for all sectors of R&D.

Unlike other Open Innovation platforms, Wellspring’s Sophia software enables organizations to innovate faster by accessing knowledge quickly and optimizing investments in research and innovation, all by managing and harnessing the organization’s Knowledge Supply Chain. By managing the Knowledge Supply Chain, an organization’s network of connections and knowledge assets, companies, universities, and hospitals optimize their research programs to effectively spur new innovations. In addition to the Sophia platform, Wellspring also acquired Flintbox in 2010, an intellectual property exchange originally founded by the University of British Columbia.